Appleton Mfg.

We trace our origin to the Webster Planing Mill, a woodworking firm operating in Appleton, WI in 1881. Over the next 40 years, Webster expanded from wooden pallets and chopping blocks to a wider product line that included spear poles and paddles for the paper industry that was growing rapidly in central Wisconsin. Shortly after World War I, the company purchased Mac-Tube located in Michigan City, IN, thereby becoming a producer of fiber tubes and cores. Wood products were still being produced for the paper industry. That portion of the business now included dewatering surfaces for the paper mills.

Ted Holzem, Orville Gitter and the Holzem Core Cutter

In 1948, Ted Holzem purchased the company. Ted and Orville Gitter then developed the “Holzem” core cutter. Orville patented the cutter under Patent US002521004. Holzem and Gitter’s designs are the basis on which today’s internal drive mandrels are built. The patents have long expired and competitors have honored Ted and Orville by cloning their concepts. By the end of 1950, Appleton had two models of core cutters in the market. The tragic death of Ted in a plane accident led to Orville becoming the acting President. Orville’s untimely death a few years later lead to the sale of Appleton to John Strange Paper Company in about 1952. The purchase was a logical one in that the paper company was a major supplier of the kraft paper used to make cores. (John Strange was partially owned by Menasha Corporation.)